Artworks, aesthetic pleasure, beauty, and many other terms are used to describe an art object, but how do we distinguish an object from a work of art? How can we define art? This post will outline three famous theories on what can be considered art, which are representation theory, form theory, and expression theory, and will discuss the possible strengths and weaknesses of each theory.
Representation Theory
To begin with, according to ancient Greek studies, art is imitated and depicted from our surroundings; that is, the sculptor modeled after the human form and the poet imitated human speech, and so on. Kant argued that an artwork must be an artifact with a specific purpose; thus, art cannot be natural objects, nor can it have practical technology and is not learned knowledge. While representative art evokes a feeling of enjoyment, Kant categorized pleasant art in the same category as aesthetic art. An important characteristic of art artifacts is to generate a sense of well-reflected, resolved pleasure and promote social communication (Hick. D. p. 20, 21).
In the 1800s, photo technology disrupted what could be considered art, as this technology reduced the time to create a portrait from months to seconds. The photo revolution motivated artists to develop painting techniques with the aim of distinguishing them from photography. Claude Monet, a French painter, contributed to the founding of Impressionism, a painting style. This was followed by Post-Impressionism and Pointillism. The purpose behind these movements was partly to capture new directions in art and partly to preserve photography largely as a technical rather than artistic endeavor (Hick. D. p. 22).
Form Theory
The second theory to be addressed in this essay is form theory, produced by Clive Bell, who was impressed by Cézanne and the Post-Impressionism movement. Bell claims that Cézanne was able to create artworks that gave rise to a special feeling in the viewer, which Bell calls aesthetic emotion. He argues that it is the lines and colors that make up the artwork itself that evoke the aesthetic feeling (Hick. D. p. 22, 23). Furthermore, Bell explains that every visible object has a form, but art is about significant form, not content. Bell believes that significant form distinguishes art from other things because it is the significant form that gives rise to aesthetic feelings and expresses the creator’s aesthetic emotions. So when one becomes aware of the significant form, one experiences the aesthetic feeling and can then identify it as a work of art. Bell points out that aesthetic feelings are provoked by art, but not by natural objects, which may have a beautiful form but not a significant form. In short, art is something with significant form, and significant form is what brings about the aesthetic feeling (Hick. D. p. 23).
Expression Theory
This theory is presented by R. G. Collingwood, Benedetto Croce, and Leo Tolstoy. The first step Collingwood took was to distinguish art from craft. Collingwood suggests that there is a fundamental difference between what the creator plans to do to evoke a certain state of mind in their consumer and how they achieve this goal with their technique (Hick. D. p. 25). This means that in craft, there must be a clear means and end, whereas in art, there is not. A craftsman has a utilitarian function as a goal, whereas an artist or poet creates independently of such a goal. In a lecture at the University of Gothenburg on September 15, 2021, Professor Andreas Nordin explained that artists express moods and intentions expressively. In other words, an artwork evokes emotions or thoughts in the viewer, provided that the creator should not intentionally aim to evoke specific emotions in the audience (Norin. A) (Hick. D. p. 26). An explanation for this is that in a poem, the poet tries to clarify their inner feelings and state; Collingwood calls this situation expression. An idea or mood can be represented by an art object, which Collingwood calls a byproduct, and an expression is generated by mental activity; due to this, art should be identified as a mental activity rather than a physical product (Hick. D. pp. 25-26).
Comparison of the Three Theories
A strength of form theory is that it provides a broader understanding of form qualities and how art is formulated than representation theory. However, a weakness is that form theory lacks clarity about what significant form exactly is. Another aspect that is incomprehensible in this theory is that significant form depends on aesthetic feeling, and aesthetic feeling depends on significant form, which seems circular (Hick. D. pp. 23-24). A weakness in expression theory is that art objects are a byproduct, meaning the theory cannot be applied to all types of art. Another potentially exaggerated aspect is that Collingwood believes one cannot experience art aesthetically in museums or galleries. The question here is whether the Louvre or London’s National Gallery, with their paintings and sculptures, are not art at all! (Hick. D. p. 27)
In summary, all philosophers’ efforts to identify and give us a clearer picture of what art is are appreciated. I believe that the three theories complement each other. This means that while Bell’s view struggles to find a simple application to art forms such as literature and music, which are not primarily visual, Collingwood’s view has the advantage that his art product should be distinguished from art itself, which is essentially a mental situation and not a physical thing (Hick. D. pp. 26-27). I have some thoughts on Collingwood’s description that an artwork gives an aesthetic pleasure feeling. The question here is whether everyone can experience that pleasure; perhaps what I recognize as aesthetic pleasure is not the same for someone else. Due to our different backgrounds and knowledge, we experience things differently. Another point I want to express is that photography is a type of art. The development of technology has a huge impact on how art should be distinguished from the photo revolution. I believe they are both art, both give me the aesthetic pleasure feeling, but the feeling I get while viewing a handmade painting is different from the feeling I get while looking at a photograph.
Sources
Hick. Darren. (2017). Introducing Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art. kapitel 1
Norian. Andreas. lecture of sub-course: Konstformernas.
